Open Season (Blu-ray)

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Sometimes, reviewing can be a real bear. You think you're being fair to a film, and then it comes back and bites you on the pitookey. I was starting to get tired of the over-caffeinated, fast-talking animal sidekick and his reluctant partner, the slower-speaking, more laconic hero. We've seen it in "Shrek," we've seen it in "Mulan," we've seen it in "Ice Age," we've seen it in . . . well, let's just say that we've seen it a lot.

And in "Open Season," the first product to come exclusively out of the relatively new Sony Pictures Animation studio, we see it again, so my SD review reflected that. The general premise will also seem familiar, especially if you've seen films like "Over the Hedge," "Madagascar," and "The Wild." Films seem to come in clumps, and "Open Season" feels like the latest installment of animals leaving their element and having a go-round with humans.

In an ideal world, an animation studio's premier wouldn't be so derivative. But this is a buyer's market, and I'm betting that studios are thinking that they have to roll with what sells. Monkey see, monkey do. Or in this case, bear and deer. Maybe, though, the filmmakers just knew that kids would love it. Mine certainly do, and after watching "Open Season" again and again because of my children, I have to admit that it grows on you in the exact way that Barney does not.

Martin Lawrence plays the gigantic Boog, a grizzly who was rescued as a cub by a park ranger named Beth (Debra Messing) and now resides in her garage. In Hollywood plots, either the hero leaves the world or something comes into the heroes world. "Open Season" gives us both variations. Boog had a great life, pedaling on a unicycle and amusing tourists in a little one-animal show, until he and the ranger drive into town and park right next to a pick-up truck with a mule deer strapped to its hood. It turns out that this mangy, one-horned wonder was killed by the movie's villain, a crazed survivalist-style hunter named Shaw (Gary Sinise). But the minute that the curious Boog pokes it with a stick and it turns out to be alive, everything changes. Boog uses his claws to set the deer free, and Elliot (Ashton Kutcher) ends up pestering him to be his "buddy." Eventually, Elliot gets Boog into trouble, and it results in both of them being airlifted back to the wild, where Boog tries to return "home," and they all try to survive the first day of hunting season . . . with Boog eventually leading them all in a Spartacus-style critter revolt.

Say what you will, but the biggest decision facing animation studios these days is the question of audience. Are you writing for kids only, kids first, the whole family, adults first, or adults only? Films like "Shrek" cashed in by appealing to adults first and kids second. At times it seems as if that's the model "Open Season" has chosen to follow. Other times, it feels as if they're aiming for the whole family, while some scenes seem totally kid-oriented. But I can picture more than a few parents wishing that a scene in which Elliot gets Boog to go out and live and have some fun were cut. After all, what kind of message does it send to children to have this lovable bear and yak-yaking deer break into a convenience store and vandalize it? Yes, Boog gets in trouble with the ranger, but even Yogi Bear didn't cause that kind of mischief. In addition to the almost requisite scatological gags, there are moments involving a couple searching for Bigfoot that are also more for adults than children. There's also some innuendo, as when one character says to another, "We'll need your nuts . . . and your acorns too." Meanwhile, allusions to Red Riding Hood are so elementary that they're clearly aimed at children. A little consistency in the matter of audience focus would have helped.

But inconsistency is a hallmark of this film. As I watched it, I found myself both liking it and also being annoyed by it. There's much to praise. I liked the backgrounds very much, and though I might quibble with some of the character designs, the animation is really very fluid and natural. The animators do an especially nice job with the water/flood sequences. Set in Timberline somewhere in Alaska or the Pacific Northwest, the little town has a real "Northern Exposure" feel to it. In fact, police chief (and sole law enforcement officer) Gordy is played by Gordon Tootoosis, a Native American who appeared on that popular show. It's refreshing to see a Native American character in a role like this, and Gordy's bolo tie and big silver belt buckle, jeans, and cap are just the way I remember people like this dressing when I lived for a time out West. Though the hunter is a manic caricature, Sinise has so much fun playing him and the artists clearly have so much fun drawing him that it's hard not to warm to this villain. Same with Lawrence's performance as Boog.

On the flipside, there are some strange scenes that the writers thought funny, but which might only traumatize young viewers. We're talking bunny abuse, people. It starts when Elliot flings rabbits, not rocks, at the garage door window to get Boog's attention, and continues throughout the film--even into the bonus features. Bunnies used as gas masks? Some may laugh, but small children may be a bit rattled by the bunny abuse. My little girl was. Personally, I was more traumatized by Kutcher. If he was this hopped up in real life, Bruce Willis would never visit. I also thought it a bit of a cop-out and to use different nationalities for the characters. Usually Indians are the most abused in this department. Here, we get a German accent for a dachshund named Mr. Wienie, a Scottish accent for an obnoxious squirrel named McSquizzy, and salmon who speak with a Japanese accent. There's also a sense of tokenism in some of the other characters. With Ian (Patrick Warburton, sounding exactly as he did in "Hoodwinked"), the alpha male of the deer herd who apparently kicked Elliot out of the herd, is introduced as another villain, but that subplot is never really pursued. It's things like that which keep "Open Season" from being an all-applause debut.